Gutter guard forming machine

ABSTRACT

The gutter guard forming machine accepts relatively narrow, elongate sheets of imperforate materials and foraminous screen materials from a series of supply rollers and passes those sheets of material through a series of forming rollers and dies to crimp the sheets mechanically together along their common elongate edges to form the desired cross-sectional shape for the finished gutter guard. The raw sheet materials are fed into the machine in two overlying and two underlying streams, which are joined together and shaped by the forming rollers and dies. The process is continuous, with an automated cutoff saw cutting the completed gutter guard to practical lengths after formation. The mechanism is primarily electrically-powered, with a pneumatic-hydraulic cylinder being used for one of the operations. Various components are adjustable to allow the configuration of the completed gutter guard to be adjusted as desired.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to conveyor systems for processing or forming a product. More specifically, the present invention relates to a gutter guard forming machine that receives relatively narrow sheet and screen material from a series of supply rolls, forms and crimps the sheets and screens together to form a finished gutter guard, and cuts the finished material to length as desired.

2. Description of the Related Art

Rain gutters are found on nearly all building structures, for removing runoff from the immediate vicinity of the foundation and to channel the runoff to a disposal site rather than running directly off the eaves and onto people and objects below. As the rain gutters are essentially troughs, they are subject to collecting leaves and other debris, particularly in the case of residential neighborhoods with trees in the area. The rain gutters of buildings and residences in such treed areas will collect leaves and other debris, which wash along the lengths of the gutters and clog the downspouts of the gutter system. This requires the gutters and downspouts to be cleaned out periodically, with the cleaning process being a somewhat tedious and potentially hazardous procedure.

As a result, numerous gutter guards have been developed for installation over the gutters. The general concept behind such guards is that they allow water to run through the guard and into the gutter, while preventing leaves and other debris from entering the gutter. Many different configurations of gutter guards have been developed, with some functioning better than others. The present inventor has found a particularly effective gutter guard configuration, but hand-forming such a gutter guard assembly from several different sheets of screen and other sheet material is very inefficient and would make the cost of the finished product prohibitive due to the labor involved.

The present inventor is aware of various machines that have been developed in the past for automating the forming of various shapes and assemblies from sheet materials. An example of such is found in German Patent No. 3,208,851, published on Dec. 9, 1982, which describes (according to the drawings and English abstract) a press having three rollers, for forming curved shapes in a single metal sheet or panel. The single top roller is vertically and laterally adjustable by a series of hydraulic struts.

Another example is found in Japanese Patent No. 4-179,530, published on Jun. 26, 1992, which describes (according to the drawings and English abstract) a method of forming a thermoplastic eaves gutter. Resins having different melting or setting temperatures are used for different sheets of material, with the sheets being laminated and treated at a temperature between the melt or set points of the two resins in order to provide the desired workability of the completed lamination.

None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus, a gutter guard forming machine solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The gutter guard forming machine accepts relatively narrow, elongate sheets of imperforate materials and foraminous screen materials from a series of supply rollers, and passes those sheets of material through a series of forming rollers and dies to crimp the sheets mechanically together along their common elongate edges to form the desired cross-sectional shape for the finished gutter guard. The raw sheet materials are fed into the machine in two overlying and two underlying streams, which are joined together and shaped by the forming rollers and dies. The process is continuous, with an automated cutoff saw cutting the completed gutter guard to practicable lengths after formation. The mechanism is primarily electrically-powered, with a pneumatic-hydraulic cylinder being used for one of the operations. Various components are adjustable to allow the configuration of the completed gutter guard to be adjusted as desired.

These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a gutter guard forming machine according to the present invention, illustrating its general configuration.

FIG. 2A is a front elevation view of the material dispensing reels of a gutter guard forming machine according to the present invention, with portions of the infeed end of the frame removed to show the guides for the materials.

FIG. 2B is a front elevation view of the conveyor system of a gutter guard forming machine according to the present invention from the infeed end through the intermediate portion of the machine, with portions of the frame removed for clarity.

FIG. 2C is a front elevation view of a gutter guard forming machine according to the present invention with portions of the frame removed, showing the output end of the machine extending from the intermediate portion of the machine.

FIG. 3 is a rear elevation view of the conveyor system of FIG. 2B with portions of the frame removed, showing the motor and roller chain drive system for the conveyors.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view from the infeed end of the conveyors of a gutter guard forming machine according to the present invention, showing the internal area between the upper and lower conveyors and the general configuration of the material forming rollers.

FIG. 5 is a schematic drawing of a series of rollers of the upper conveyor of a gutter guard forming machine according to the present invention, showing their progressive shapes for forming material rolled therethrough.

FIG. 6 is a schematic drawing of the forming rollers of the lower conveyor of a gutter guard forming machine according to the present invention, showing their progressive shapes for forming material rolled therethrough.

FIG. 7 is a schematic drawing of a series of rollers of the intermediate conveyor of a gutter guard forming machine according to the present invention, showing their progressive shapes for forming material rolled therethrough.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a combination stationary and rotary guide of a gutter guard forming machine according to the present invention, situated within the upper conveyor.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the underside of the intermediate conveyor of a gutter guard forming machine according to the present invention, particularly showing the toothed crimping rollers for securing the conveyed materials together.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the cutoff saw mechanism of a gutter guard forming machine according to the present invention, for translating the saw longitudinally in coordination with material movement to the output end of the conveyor.

FIG. 11 is an end elevation view of the cutoff saw of a gutter guard forming machine according to the present invention, showing the mechanism for raising and lowering the saw during material cutting operations.

FIG. 12 is an inverted perspective view of the end of a length of finished gutter guard produced by a gutter guard forming machine according to the present invention.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is a gutter guard forming machine that accepts multiple strips of imperforate material and foraminous screen and forms and crimps the materials together to form a finished product. The machine includes upper and lower conveyors extending from the infeed end and merging into a single intermediate conveyor, which, in turn, passes the finished gutter guard to a traveling cutoff saw that cuts the guard to practical lengths. The result is the automated production of a gutter guard configuration that has been shown to be quite efficient at preventing leaves, evergreen needles, and other debris from collecting in rain gutters when installed thereon.

FIG. 1 of the drawings is a perspective view showing the overall structure of the entire forming machine 10, including one of the series of rolls providing raw material for forming the completed gutter guard. The machine 10 generally includes a conveyor frame 12 formed of square or rectangular steel tube welded together, or formed from other suitable material. The conveyor frame includes an infeed end 14, an intermediate portion 16, and a delivery end 18 supporting the various forming conveyors that form the finished product. Upper and lower conveyor lines 20 and 22, respectively, extend from the infeed end 14 to the intermediate portion 16 of the frame 12. These two initial conveyor lines 20 and 22 are vertically separated by some distance at the infeed end 14 of the frame 12, but the lower conveyor line 22 slopes upwardly to form an acute angle with, and to merge with, the substantially horizontal upper line 20 at the beginning of the single delivery conveyor 24 extending through the intermediate portion 16 of the frame 12. A cutoff saw 26 is installed at the delivery end portion 18 of the frame 12, for cutting the finished gutter guard product to length as it passes from the machine after forming.

FIG. 2A provides an elevation view of the infeed end 14 of the conveyor frame 12, and also of the series of externally placed material rolls that provide the raw materials for forming the gutter guard product in the machine 10. While the various rolls of material may be arranged in any practicable order or position, the example of FIG. 2A shows a first roll 28 dispensing an elongate, unbroken length or strip of expanded metal material 30, a second roll 32 dispensing an elongate, unbroken length of relatively wide imperforate sheet material 34, and a third roll 36 dispensing an elongate, unbroken length of relatively narrow imperforate sheet material 38. A fourth roll 40 dispensing a fine mesh screen material 42 is located between the infeed end 14 of the frame and the infeed ends of the upper and lower conveyor lines 20 and 22.

It should be noted that the second and third rolls 32 and 36 are not in the same plane with one another, but are offset to each side of the first and fourth rolls 28 and 40. The two imperforate strips 34 and 38 travel around an initial guide roller 44 that positions the two laterally spaced strips 34 and 38 in the same plane with one another before they pass through the forming rollers of the upper conveyor line 20. The fine mesh screen material 42 initially feeds in the opposite direction, i.e., out of the infeed end 14 of the frame 12 and toward the three rolls 28, 32, and 36, and then doubles back around a guide bar or roller 46. The expanded metal strip 30 from the first roll 28 also passes beneath this guide bar or roller 46. The two foraminous strips 30 and 42 are merged at this point, with the fine mesh screen 42 overlying the expanded metal 30, to pass through an additional guide and edge forming assembly 48 and into the lower conveyor line 22. The guide and edge forming assembly 48 includes a series of specially configured rollers that fold the edges of the fine mesh screen 42 downwardly around the edges of the underlying expanded metal strip 30 to secure the two strips 30 and 42 together. These forming rollers in the guide and edge forming assembly 48 operate in much the same manner as the forming rollers installed in the various conveyor lines 20, 22, and 24, with specifics of the forming operations performed by those conveyor lines being discussed in detail further below. Various additional guides, tensioners, brakes, etc. may be provided to control the paths and flow of the various material strips 30, 34, 38, and 42 as they enter the machine 10.

Each of the conveyors 20, 22, and 24 comprises a series of upper and lower roller pairs for forming and assembling the strips of material as they pass therethrough. The roller pairs of each of the three conveyor lines 20, 22, and 24 are powered by a motor driving a series of roller chains, as shown in the rear view of the conveyors in FIG. 3. While the associated roller chains and sprockets are shown in FIG. 3, it will be understood that the partial section view of FIG. 3 also illustrates the corresponding forming and crimping rollers concentrically with their sprockets and shafts, with the reference numerals addressing the corresponding forming or crimping roller at each position. For example, the upper conveyor line 20 includes a series of roller pairs comprising a first roller pair 50 a, 50 b, second roller pair 52 a, 52 b, third roller pair 54 a, 54 b, and so on through the tenth roller pair 68 a, 68 b. All of these rollers are installed upon a corresponding series of mutually parallel shafts, with each of the shafts having two concentric sprockets extending therefrom.

A series of alternating, offset roller chains 70 extend between the sprockets of each of the laterally adjacent rollers, e.g., rollers 50 a and 52 a, rollers 58 a and 60 a, etc. One roller chain and laterally adjacent sprocket pair transfers drive energy from the previous sprocket and roller to the adjacent sprocket and roller in the line, and the next roller chain passes around the second of the two concentric sprockets of the roller to transfer drive to the next sprocket and roller in the line. This mechanism is continued along the entire roller line from upper roller 68 a, which is closest to the drive motor, continuing down the line to the initial upper roller 50 a.

Drive is transferred from one of the upper rollers, e.g., roller 68 a, to an adjacent lower roller, e.g., roller 68 b, by a pair of conventional spur gears (not shown) disposed upon adjacent upper and lower roller shafts. This results in the upper roller series rotating in the opposite direction from the lower roller series, with the roller faces of each roller pair moving in the same direction when they are adjacent to one another in order to draw the material therethrough. Drive is transferred along the sprockets and rollers of the lower roller series 68 b, 66 b, 64 b, etc., back to the initial lower roller 50 b by another series of roller chains 70 and sprockets having the same configuration as that described further above for the upper roller and sprocket series. An upper conveyor drive motor 72 and speed reduction 74 are provided to drive the upper roller series 50 a through 68 b by an initial drive roller chain 76. The motor 72 is electric in this example, but alternative drive motors and power may be provided, e.g., hydraulic, pneumatic, etc.

The roller series of the lower conveyor 22 is configured and driven similarly to the upper conveyor roller series, as discussed above. The lower conveyor 22 includes a series of roller pairs comprising a first roller pair 78 a, 78 b, second roller pair 80 a, 80 b, third roller pair 82 a, 82 b, and so on through the tenth roller pair 96 a, 96 b. All of these rollers are installed upon a corresponding series of mutually parallel shafts, with the roller shafts of the lower conveyor 22 all being axially parallel to the roller shafts of the upper conveyor 20. Roller chains 70 extend between the sprockets of each of the laterally adjacent rollers, e.g., rollers 78 a and 80 a, rollers 86 a and 88 a, etc.

Drive is transferred from one of the upper rollers, e.g., roller 96 a, to an adjacent lower roller, e.g., roller 96 b, by a pair of conventional spur gears (not shown) disposed upon adjacent upper and lower roller shafts, as in the case of the upper conveyor 20. Drive is transferred along the sprockets and rollers of the lower roller series 96 b, 94 b, etc. back to the initial lower roller 78 b by another set of roller chains 70 and sprockets having the same configuration as that described further above for the upper conveyor 20. A lower conveyor drive motor and speed reduction assembly 98 is provided to drive the lower roller series 78 a through 96 b by an initial drive roller chain 100. The lower conveyor drive motor is concentric with its speed reduction unit, with the two components being shown as a single assembly 98 in FIG. 3.

The third or delivery conveyor line 24 of the roller conveyor series operates in essentially the same manner as the upper and lower conveyors 20 and 22, as described above. The delivery conveyor 24 includes a roller pairs comprising first roller pair 102 a, 102 b, second roller pair 104 a, 104 b, third roller pair 106 a, 106 b, and so on through the eighth roller pair 116 a, 116 b. All of these rollers are installed upon a corresponding series of mutually parallel shafts, with the roller shafts of the delivery conveyor 24 all being axially parallel to the roller shafts of the upper and lower conveyors 20 and 22. Roller chains 70 extend between the sprockets of each of the laterally adjacent rollers, e.g., rollers 108 a and 110 a, etc.

Drive is transferred from one of the upper rollers, e.g., roller 116 a, to an adjacent lower roller, e.g., roller 116 b, by a pair of conventional spur gears (not shown) disposed upon adjacent upper and lower roller shafts, as in the case of the upper and lower conveyors 20 and 22. Drive is transferred along the sprockets and rollers of the lower roller series 116 b, 114 b, etc., back to the initial lower roller 102 b by another set of roller chains 70 and sprockets having the same configuration as that described further above for the upper and lower conveyors 20 and 22. A lower conveyor drive motor 118 and speed reduction unit 120 are provided to drive the delivery conveyor roller series 102 a through 116 b by an initial drive roller chain 122. The three conveyor drive motors 72, 98, and 118 are synchronous motors and are controlled by known means in order to synchronize the speeds of the various conveyor rollers in order to provide a smooth and constant flow of the material through the machine.

FIG. 4 provides a perspective view between the upper and lower conveyors 20 and 22, showing portions of the bottom rollers 54 b through 68 b of the upper conveyor 20 and portions of the top rollers 82 a through 96 a of the lower conveyor 22 and their progressive shapes for forming the material as it passes therethrough. It will be noted that the various rollers have increasingly steep or deep circumferential ridges and grooves as the rollers progress from the beginning of the roller sequences, i.e., closer to the infeed end of the machine, toward the output ends of the upper and lower conveyors 20 and 22, where they merge to join the delivery conveyor 24. This provides the sequential forming operation for the edges of the imperforate strips 34 and 38 as they pass through the upper conveyor roller series 50 a, 50 b through 68 a, 68 b and the sequential forming operation of the sandwiched plies of foraminous material 30 and 42 as they pass through the lower conveyor rollers 78 a, 78 b through 96 a, 96 b.

The upper conveyor 20 is the primary mechanism of forming the two laterally opposed imperforate sheets 34 and 38 that form the edges of the completed gutter guard assembly. It will be noted in FIG. 4 that each of the shafts of the upper rollers 58 b through 64 b of the upper conveyor 20 have a series of sleeves or collars 124 installed thereon. These sleeves or collars 124 may be removed from, or installed upon, their respective roller shafts by removing the roller and shaft assembly from its conventional bearing mounts at each side of the conveyor run and sliding the sleeve(s) or collar(s) onto or off the shaft, as desired. This arrangement adjusts the lateral positions of the rollers axially along the respective shaft, depending upon the spacing or positioning of the sleeves or rollers along the shaft relative to the rollers on the shaft. In this manner, the lateral spacing or positioning of the rollers of the upper conveyor line 20 may be adjusted as required for forming different widths of the imperforate material that forms the two opposed edges of the completed gutter guard assembly.

FIG. 5 provides a detailed illustration of a series of three of the forming roller pairs 58 a, 58 b through 62 a, 62 b of the upper conveyor 20. These rollers comprise a portion of the roller series 50 a through 68 b used to form the outboard edge of the narrower imperforate strip of material 34. The first roller 58 a has a relatively shallow circumferential ridge 58 c formed therearound, with the corresponding roller 58 b having a correspondingly shallow groove 58 d therearound. The ridge and groove 58 c and 58 d fit closely together, with a gap therebetween only sufficiently wide to allow the passage of the thin strip of material 34 therethrough. The next roller pair 60 a, 60 b has a somewhat higher and deeper ridge and groove 60 c and 60 d formed therearound, while the final roller pair 62 a, 62 b has an even steeper and deeper ridge and groove 62 c, 62 d formed therearound to form the final edge shape of the material 34. This gradual, successively higher and deeper series of ridges and grooves in each successive roller pair serves to bend the sheet material 34 gradually with each pass through the next roller pair in the series, thus avoiding any sudden large bending forces and resulting cracking, misalignment, or other undesirable damage to the material. The result is the forming of the longitudinal edge along the length of the narrower imperforate strip 34, as may be seen in the inverted perspective view of the end of a finished length of the gutter guard material in FIG. 12.

FIG. 6 illustrates the series of progressive rollers 78 a, 78 b through 96 a, 96 b of the lower conveyor 22. The two rollers forming each roller pair are closely spaced, with a gap therebetween only sufficient to allow the combined thickness of the sandwiched foraminous strip material 30 and 42 to pass therebetween. Each roller pair includes a series of mating circumferential ridges and grooves, i.e., the upper roller 78 a includes a series of three axially spaced circumferential ridges 78 c while the lower roller 78 b includes a series of mating circumferential grooves 78 d, etc. for the entire roller set comprising rollers 78 a through 96 b. It will be noted that the ridges and grooves 78 c and 78 d are relatively shallow, and impart relatively little deformation to the initially flat sheets of foraminous material 30 and 42 passing therebetween. The next set of rollers in succession, i.e., rollers 80 a and 80 b, respectively have slightly higher and deeper ridges and grooves 80 c and 80 d, which impart slightly greater deformation to the material sheets passing therebetween. The process continues to the final roller pair 96 a and 96 b, wherein the ridges 96 c are extremely narrow and sharp and the corresponding grooves 96 d are quite narrow. The result is the forming of a series of longitudinal ridges along the length of the expanded metal and screen material sandwich, as may be seen in the inverted perspective view of the end of a finished length of the gutter guard assembly 200 in FIG. 12.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of a series of forming rollers 108 a through 112 a of the roller series 102 a through 116 b of the delivery conveyor line 24. These rollers are used to form the doubled over inner edge of the relatively wider outboard strip of imperforate material 34. This inner edge is subsequently mechanically crimped to the corresponding edge of the previously assembled expanded metal and screen material 30 and 42, as shown in FIG. 7 and explained further below. The corresponding forming rollers 108 b through 112 b, shown generally in FIG. 3, are not shown in FIG. 7 but will be seen to function in a manner similar to that explained above in the discussion of the roller series 58 a through 62 b of FIG. 5 and the roller series 78 a through 96 b of FIG. 6. Each of the forming rollers 108 a through 112 a includes a narrow circumferential slot therein, respectively 108 c through 112 c, with each of the rollers 108 a through 112 a further having a progressively shallow conical slope or face, respectively 108 d through 112 d. The slots 108 c through 112 c serve to guide the edge of the sheet material 34 as it travels through the delivery conveyor line 24, with the corresponding rollers 108 b through 112 b (not shown in FIG. 7) gradually bending the material 34 in sequence as shown in FIG. 7 to form the doubled over inner edge therealong for subsequent crimping to the foraminous sheet assembly composed of strips 30 ad 42. The process for forming the inner or crimping edge of the narrower strip of imperforate material 38 is also accomplished along the delivery conveyor 24 by a series of rollers similar to the rollers 108 a through 112 a illustrated in FIG. 7.

In certain instances, it may not be necessary to use forming rollers for shaping and guiding the strip material as it passes through the machine 10. In some instances, it may be sufficient to provide a relatively simple guide or die having a slot therein through which one edge of the sheet material passes. FIG. 8 illustrates such a die 126 installed in the upper conveyor line 20. The die 126 includes a stationary portion 128 having a longitudinal slot 130 thereacross, i.e., the slot 130 is oriented along the longitudinal path of the strip material passing through the machine 10. A rotating portion 132 of the die assembly 126 is positioned axially adjacent the stationary portion 128, with the strip of material (e.g., the narrow imperforate strip 38) having one edge passing through the slot 130 and being held within the slot 130 by the adjacent rotating portion 132.

The forming of the various components comprising the completed gutter guard has been illustrated in FIGS. 4 through 8 and discussed to this point. FIG. 9 provides an illustration of the means used to secure the two imperforate edge components 34 and 38 to the central expanded metal and screen assembly 30, 42 in the delivery conveyor line 24. The perspective view of FIG. 9 is from beneath the various rollers of the delivery conveyor 24 and shows first and second crimping rollers, respectively 134 and 136, which bear against the underside of the gutter guard assembly along the junctures of the two imperforate strips 34 and 38 with the opposite edges of the foraminous screen assembly 30, 42. The attachment edges of the imperforate strips have previously been formed to grip the corresponding edges of the screen assembly, as shown in FIG. 7 and described further above. The delivery conveyor line 24 assembles the various gutter guard components 30, 34, 38, and 42 so the edges of the screen assembly 30, 42 are inserted within the double fold previously formed along the inboard edge of each of the imperforate sheets 34 and 38. This assembly is then passed over the crimping rollers 134 and 136, squeezed between the two rollers 134, 136 and corresponding overlying rollers (not shown for clarity in the drawing, but substantially conventional flat cylindrical rollers). The crimping rollers may include a single circumferential row of teeth, as shown with the second roller 136, or multiple circumferential rows of teeth, as shown with the first roller 134. The teeth of the crimping rollers 134 and 136 drive indentations into the lower portions of imperforate material underlying the respective edges of the foraminous strip assembly 30, 42 and into the foraminous assembly as well, crimping and mechanically attaching the doubled-over folds of the two imperforate strips 34 and 38 to the edges of the foraminous strip assembly 30 and 42 to complete the forming of the gutter guard 200.

Once the gutter guard assembly 200 has been completed as described above, the gutter guard is cut to the desired length by a traveling cutoff saw 26 disposed within the delivery end portion 18 of the frame 12. FIG. 2C provides a general front elevation view of the saw travel, with the initial position of the saw 26 shown in broken lines and the finish cut position of the saw shown in solid lines in FIG. 2C. Details of the circular saw 26 and its actuation mechanism are illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11 of the drawings. The delivery end portion 18 of the frame 12 includes a pair of mutually parallel cutoff saw tracks, respectively tracks 138 and 140, extending along the delivery end portion of the frame 12 parallel to the delivery conveyor line 24. A cutoff saw carriage 142 slides back and forth along the two saw tracks 138 and 140, parallel to the path of the completed gutter guard assembly as it leaves the delivery conveyor 24. The carriage 142 includes a series of slides 144 depending therebeneath, with first and second endless toothed carriage belts 146 and 148 affixed to the slides 144 at the forward and rearward sides of the carriage 142 adjacent to the saw tracks 138 and 140. The carriage belts 146 and 148 pass around a pair of spaced apart drive pulleys or sprockets 150 and 152, installed upon a common drive shaft 154. A similar shaft and pulley assembly (not shown) is provided at the opposite end of the carriage belt run, to keep the two carriage belts 146 and 148 taut. The drive shaft 154 is driven by a cutoff saw travel drive motor 156 via a transfer drive belt 158 or other suitable power transfer means between the motor 156 and drive shaft 154.

The saw travel drive motor 156 is selectively actuated according to conventional programming to rotate the drive shaft 154 at a predetermined speed, which drives the two carriage belts 146 and 148 to move the cutoff saw carriage 142 and the cutoff saw 26 mounted thereon along the path of travel of the completed gutter guard 200 at the same rate of travel as the gutter guard as it passes through the delivery end portion 18 of the machine. In other words, the saw 26 and gutter guard assembly 200 are stationary relative to one another (but not relative to the rest of the machine 10) as the saw 26 is in longitudinal motion along the delivery end of the machine 10 during the cutting operation. This allows the saw 26 to make periodic cuts across the length of completed gutter guard 200 as it is leaving the machine, cutting the gutter guard 200 to predetermined lengths according to the conventional programming for the saw operation. Electrical power is conveyed to the circular saw motor 160 by an electrical cord protected by an articulating electrical cord or cable guard 162, which articulates back and forth with longitudinal movement of the saw 26 and carriage 142 along the slides 138 and 140. FIG. 10 also illustrates the saw blade lubrication system 164 provided with the cutoff system.

FIG. 11 provides a view of the mechanism for raising and lowering the cutoff saw 26 during cutting operations. The cutoff saw 26 pivots arcuately upward and downward upon a pivot 166 disposed upon the rear portion of the carriage 142. A lift strut support bracket 168 is affixed to and depends below the saw carriage 142. A cutoff saw lift strut 170 (e.g., a pneumatic-hydraulic strut, or other lift mechanism) is pivotally affixed to the lift strut support bracket 168 beneath the saw 26, with the lift strut 170 having an extension rod 172 pivotally attached to the lower end of an arcuate cutoff saw lift arm 174. The opposite end of the arcuate lift arm 174 is attached to the cutoff saw 26.

The lift strut 170 is actuated to extend and lift the cutoff saw 26 arcuately between cutoff operations, thus lifting the saw and its blade above the plane of the completed gutter guard 200 passing therebeneath as it departs the machine 10. When the desired length of gutter guard 200 has passed the saw 26, the system is actuated by conventional programming to operate the saw travel drive motor 156 to drive the saw 26 along the delivery end 18 of the frame 12 to match with the speed of the gutter guard 200, and simultaneously retract the lift strut extension rod 172 to lower the saw 26 onto the gutter guard 200. The saw blade is normally in continuous operation during operation of the gutter guard forming machine 10, and cuts the completed gutter guard 200 to length as the gutter guard and saw 26 travel along the delivery end 18 of the machine. When the cut is complete, the saw 26 is raised by extending the lift strut extension rod 172, and the saw travel drive motor 156 is reversed to draw the saw carriage 142, cutoff saw 26, and attached saw lift strut 170 back toward the delivery conveyor line 24 in readiness to repeat the cutting operation.

The gutter guard 200 is supported during the cutting operation and guided from the saw after cutting by a pair of unpowered pinch rollers 176 immediately adjacent to the saw 26. The cut lengths of gutter guard 200 are drawn from the delivery end 18 of the machine 10 by a pair of powered delivery end pinch rollers 178 (FIGS. 1 and 2C) installed at the extreme output end of the delivery end 18 of the machine. The two driven or powered pinch rollers 178 are powered by a delivery end pinch roller drive motor 180 and speed reduction, not shown in FIG. 10 or 11 for clarity in the drawing Figs., but shown generally in FIG. 1 of the drawings. The delivery end pinch roller drive motor 180 is synchronized with the upper conveyor drive motor 72, lower conveyor drive motor 98, and delivery conveyor drive motor 118 by conventional electronic means to draw the cut length of completed gutter guard 200 from the machine 10 at the same rate of feed as provided by the various conveyor drive motors 72, 98, and 118.

The end result of the operation of the gutter guard forming machine is a series of lengths of completed gutter guard 200, a detailed end view of which is shown in FIG. 12 of the drawings. (The gutter guard 200 is shown inverted in FIG. 12, in order to more clearly show the series of longitudinal valleys or “dips” formed in the expanded metal and screen sandwich 30 and 42 by the rollers 78 a through 96 b of the lower conveyor 22.) The gutter guard forming machine 10 is capable of completing hundreds of linear feet of gutter guard per hour of operation, thus reducing the cost of production to a very low level for competitive sales of a very efficient gutter guard product.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims. 

1. A gutter guard forming machine, comprising: a conveyor frame having an infeed end, a delivery end opposite the infeed end, and an intermediate portion between the infeed end and the delivery end; an upper conveyor line extending from the infeed end to the intermediate portion of the conveyor frame; a lower conveyor line extending from the infeed end to the intermediate portion of the conveyor frame below the upper conveyor line, the upper and lower conveyor lines merging at the intermediate portion of the conveyor frame; a delivery conveyor line extending from the merger of the upper conveyor line and the lower conveyor line, the delivery conveyor line extending through the intermediate portion of the conveyor frame; and a linearly traveling circular cutoff saw disposed along the delivery end of the conveyor frame, the cutoff saw selectively traveling along a path parallel to the delivery conveyor line.
 2. The gutter guard forming machine according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of mechanically-powered forming rollers and crimping rollers disposed along the upper conveyor line, the lower conveyor line, and the delivery conveyor line, the forming rollers and the crimping rollers having mutually parallel axes.
 3. The gutter guard forming machine according to claim 2, wherein at least one pair of the forming rollers and the crimping rollers are laterally adjustable along their axes.
 4. The gutter guard forming machine according to claim 1, further comprising: an upper conveyor line drive motor communicating mechanically with the upper conveyor line; a lower conveyor line drive motor communicating mechanically with the lower conveyor line; a delivery conveyor line drive motor communicating mechanically with the delivery conveyor line; a cutoff saw travel drive motor communicating mechanically with the cutoff saw; and a delivery end pinch roller drive motor disposed at the delivery end of the conveyor frame.
 5. The gutter guard forming machine according to claim 1, further including at least one stationary die disposed along the delivery conveyor line.
 6. The gutter guard forming machine according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of cutoff saw tracks disposed along the delivery end of the conveyor frame parallel to the delivery conveyor line, the cutoff saw being slidably disposed upon the cutoff saw tracks and selectively traveling along the tracks.
 7. The gutter guard forming machine according to claim 1, further including a pneumatic-hydraulic strut disposed beneath the cutoff saw and attached thereto, the strut selectively lifting the saw between cutting operations.
 8. A gutter guard forming machine, comprising: a conveyor frame having an infeed end, a delivery end opposite the infeed end, and an intermediate portion between the infeed end and the delivery end; an upper conveyor line extending from the infeed end to the intermediate portion of the conveyor frame; a lower conveyor line extending from the infeed end to the intermediate portion of the conveyor frame below the upper conveyor line, the upper and lower conveyor lines merging at the intermediate portion of the conveyor frame; a delivery conveyor line extending from the merger of the upper conveyor line and the lower conveyor line, the delivery conveyor line extending through the intermediate portion of the conveyor frame; and a plurality of mechanically-powered forming rollers and crimping rollers disposed along the upper conveyor line, the lower conveyor line, and the delivery conveyor line, the forming rollers and the crimping rollers having mutually parallel axes.
 9. The gutter guard forming machine according to claim 8, further comprising: an upper conveyor line drive motor communicating mechanically with the upper conveyor line; a lower conveyor line drive motor communicating mechanically with the lower conveyor line; a delivery conveyor line drive motor communicating mechanically with the delivery conveyor line; a cutoff saw travel drive motor disposed at the delivery end of the conveyor frame adjacent the delivery conveyor line; and a delivery end pinch roller drive motor disposed at the delivery end of the conveyor frame.
 10. The gutter guard forming machine according to claim 8, wherein at least one pair of the forming rollers and the crimping rollers are laterally adjustable along their axes.
 11. The gutter guard forming machine according to claim 8, further including at least one stationary die disposed along the delivery conveyor line.
 12. The gutter guard forming machine according to claim 8, further comprising: a plurality of cutoff saw tracks disposed along the delivery end of the conveyor frame and parallel to the delivery conveyor line; and a linearly traveling circular cutoff saw slidably disposed upon the cutoff saw tracks, the cutoff selectively traveling along the tracks parallel to the delivery conveyor line.
 13. The gutter guard forming machine according to claim 12, further including a pneumatic-hydraulic strut disposed beneath the cutoff saw and attached thereto, the strut selectively lifting the saw between cutting operations.
 14. A gutter guard forming machine, comprising: a conveyor frame having an infeed end, a delivery end opposite the infeed end, and an intermediate portion between the infeed end and the delivery end; a delivery conveyor line extending through the intermediate portion of the conveyor frame to the delivery end of the conveyor frame; a plurality of cutoff saw tracks disposed along the delivery end of the conveyor frame parallel to the delivery conveyor line; and a linearly traveling circular cutoff saw slidably disposed upon the cutoff saw tracks, the cutoff saw selectively traveling along the tracks parallel to the delivery conveyor line.
 15. The gutter guard forming machine according to claim 14, further comprising: an upper conveyor line extending from the infeed end to the intermediate portion of the conveyor frame, and merging with the delivery conveyor line; a lower conveyor line extending from the infeed end to the intermediate portion of the conveyor frame below the upper conveyor line, the upper and lower conveyor lines merging at the delivery conveyor line; and a plurality of mechanically-powered forming rollers and crimping rollers disposed along the upper conveyor line, the lower conveyor line, and the delivery conveyor line, the forming rollers and the crimping rollers having mutually parallel axes.
 16. The gutter guard forming machine according to claim 15, further comprising: an upper conveyor line drive motor communicating mechanically with the upper conveyor line; a lower conveyor line drive motor communicating mechanically with the lower conveyor line; a delivery conveyor line drive motor communicating mechanically with the delivery conveyor line; a cutoff saw travel drive motor communicating mechanically with the cutoff saw; and a delivery end pinch roller drive motor disposed at the delivery end of the conveyor frame.
 17. The gutter guard forming machine according to claim 15, wherein at least one pair of the forming rollers and the crimping rollers are laterally adjustable along their axes.
 18. The gutter guard forming machine according to claim 14, further including at least one stationary die disposed along the delivery conveyor line.
 19. The gutter guard forming machine according to claim 14, further including a pneumatic-hydraulic strut disposed beneath the cutoff saw and attached thereto, the strut selectively lifting the saw between cutting operations. 